Greetings:

The reunion this year will be special. Rather than holding the gathering in Zanesville, owing to technical glitches, it will be held in Marietta, Ohio about 1 hour south of Zanesville on the Ohio river. Marietta is the historichome of the Norman, Stevens and Burke families.

The date is July 18, 19 & 20. The theme this year will be the Underground Railroad and Civil War.

Our initial gathering place will be at the Levee Cafe which is a former Underground Railroad location. Most of the family will stay at the Best Western in Marietta 740-374-7211. The rate there is $65.00 per double bed or $75.00 with two double beds and double occupancy. There is a room block set aside for us until June 10th. Please reference the Reunion or Roundtable when making reservations.


SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

Friday at 4:00 p.m.

Cocktail Hour at the Levee House Cafe.

Friday at 7:00 p.m.

We will meet in the Levee House Cafe in the rear patio room which overlooks the river for a traditional meet and greet, introductions and a weekend overview. Thereafter its hugs, kisses and cocktails anyone? Coca Cola, Water, Coffee and Tea are perfectly acceptable too!

During this event colleagues, friends and family in attendance will have an opportunity to share what has brought them to this 2008 gathering. Bring your notebooks and notes and be prepared to linger into the early hours of morning. Walk outside and gaze at the Ohio river which for many was the determining factor in regards to personal freedom.

SATURDAY

Saturday morning we will meet at the Levee House for breakfast and by 9:30 a.m. assemble at the Marietta Historical Society for a morning overview and introduction to the Underground Railroad tour. Key locations between Marietta & Belpre will be featured (the distance between is about 12 miles). Once in Belpre the tour will be treated to a power point presentation by Henry Burke (southeastern Ohio African American historian) who will explain the beginning of the Underground Railroad and the early history of Ohio,

We will gain an understanding of such things as how the town of Veto got its name!

This will be followed by a lunch break (45 minutes) and then we will be led across the river to Parkersburg, West Virginia to view a slave cemetery and a plantation along the river. We will return to Marietta in time to stretch our legs and to have a break.

At about 2:30 p.m. Robert Lett will give a brief overview of the Lett Settlement Families' involvement in the Civil War; Lett, Simpson, Caliman, Burke, Hilton with Marvin Lett of Mt. Pleasant, Michigan giving additional comments in regards to the Michigan families' participation in the war. Further comments will be invited from those in attendance.

No later than 3:30 p.m. we will be addressed by Benny McRae in regards to the role of the United States Colored Troops in the Civil War. Special attention will be given to the role of freed slaves in the Civil War. The movie 'Glory' and the publicity arising from that movie have overshadowed the role of nearly 200,000 southern colored troops.

Saturday evening we will join together for a common dinner at the Levee House and time will be given to other researchers and historians to share with the group their research. No doubt we all will be amazed at the depth of our inter-connectedness as colleagues, family and friends.

SUNDAY

Sunday morning we'll meet for breakfast and those so desiring can worship at the Wesleyan Methodist Church which is Pastored by Rev. Wooten.

Those to be attending the reunion are as follows:

Henry R. Burke from Marietta, Ohio - Southeastern Ohio Historian & Underground Railroad Specialist. Benny McRae from Trotwood, Ohio - Civil War Historian. Dr. Anne Butler, Ph'd - professor at Kentucky State University Frankfort, Kentucky & Member of the Kentucky Heritage Foundation. Connye Richardson Moore from Los Angeles, California - key researcher of Woodson Family & collateral families of Lett, Caliman, Tate and Guy. Jerry Gore from Maysville, Kentucky - founder of National Underground Railroad Museum in Maysville, Kentucky. Michelle Pedreau - M.L.S. Library Science, retired Ohio University webmaster African Americans in Southeastern Ohio. Patrick Trimble from Pittsburg, Pennsylvania - Historian of Cumberland Posey & Anna Stevens "Cumberland Posey African American River Boat Pilot & Entrepreneur". Marlene Bransom of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania - Historian/Educator "Families of Southern Pennsylvania" (Greene & Washington Counties). Rosemary Clifford McDaniel - Historian/Genealogist for Clifford family and collateral lines, Simpsons, Caliman & Guy.

Special guests: Leah Rankin of Evansville, Indiana - Historian & descendant of Rev. John Ranking, Underground Railroad Activist Ripley, Ohio, Ruth Bruning - Historian specializing in the story of Margaret Garner (Toni Morrison's book "Beloved"). Michael Crutcher a.k.a. Frederick Douglas (Impressions of Frederick Douglas).

Family Notes:

We are blessed to have a strong alliance of family members who are active in family research. Each year since 2003 (when we met at the Fairground in Zanesville) new family members have found their way home to us! A few of the new this year who should be joining us in Marietta are two lines of the Simpson family and some family members researching the Myers and Harper families.

Special thanks need to go to: Marsha Stewart - webmaster of the Old Settlers Website. Marvin Lett - a regular contributor as a writer in the Old Settlers Newspaper. Peggy Sawyer Williams - for continual dililgence and her recent work for the recognition of Civil War veteran Samuel Lett. Barb Nelson - webmaster of a family tree website which has attracted many family members and for her work in directing them to their historic families. Chuck Weiker - genealogist and family historian of Findley, Ohio. Also Charles Henry Lett and Wilbur Norman of Zanesville - our elder historians.

REGISTRATION PLEASE:

In order to offset our minimal expenses, a registration fee of $25.00 is requested. This fee will allow you to have the 2008 T-Shirt . You will be able to also have a dinner at the Levee House as we have our family networking session on Saturday night.
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I'm looking forward to seeing you all in Marietta!

Please don't hesitate to contact me with questions and/or suggestions
lettrl@hotmail.com and/or 626-799-0654 early mornings before 8:00 a.m. (11:00 a.m,. eastern) or after 7:00 p.m. (10:00 p.m) eastern.

Warmest Regards,

Robert Lett

[please feel free to contact Barb Nelson, secretary, with any questions also. bneson@yahoo.com]


To register, make out the check to Anne T. Burke.
Mail it to
Anne Burke
519 Adams Street
Marietta, OH 45750

***some of the main family names... Adams, Barnett, Burke, Cook, Collins, Cross, Croston, Cummings, Dalton, Gibson, Goins, Green, Guy, Harper, Harris, Hill, Holbert, Jackson, Johnson, Jones, Kennedy, Lett, Lucas, Male, Mayle, Myers, Newman, Norris, Norman, Ramsey, Simpson, Smith, Stevens, Tabler, Tate, and Williams. ***